-Physical training- -Competition days-
Physical
Training TIPS
Cardio respiratory resistance, Flexibility – Muscle strength
Cardiorespiratory
resistance:
Ride a bike at least 30 minutes twice a week; run at least one mile a
week; swim at least one hour a week. Pick one exercise that you can
start from zero: for example, just walk one hour a week and gradually
increase to a running goal over a three-week period.
Flexibility:
Stretch your muscles no less than three times a week. This is
important! If you don’t have a stretching routine, ask a personal
trainer at a gym for help, or go to a physical education teacher or
look for athletes at your nearest track and field park and ask if you
can stretch with them. Warm up at least one minute and then stretch
your neck, legs, and torso.
Muscle
Strength:
Do exercises to build your muscle strength, which is very helpful for
big wave paddle days! You will find it improves your swimming, and
more importantly prevents muscle cramps and muscle lesions. You can
use Velcro weights or resistance tubing at a gym once or twice a week
during low wave periods. Start a routine you can make part of your
week. Examples: squats, leg press, leg extensions, to strengthen the
muscles in the lower back, chest, biceps, and triceps, three
repetitions, 10 times each with a comfortable weight you can handle.
The
Competition Day:
Put up your carbohydrates.
The
Night Before the Contest:
Prevent moments of stress by checking your equipment, buying needed
equipment, packing up equipment, gassing up your car or calling your
ride to the contest. Try not to waste your energy by dancing or
sleeping too late; tell your friends to go home early! You can do it!
Have a light dinner, such as rice, potatoes, and fish. Fat spends
more time in your body during digestion, so watch out! No beans,
burgers, cornflakes, coffee, and no more than two beers.
How
to Sleep?
Rent movies, read books, play table games or video games. Try some
chamomile tea.
Morning
of the Contest:
Have a light breakfast at least one hour before the event. Try
fruits, juice, yogurt, almonds or peanuts. Remember your warming up
and stretching exercises. Think about nice things. If the contest is
some distance away, take your usual breakfast.
Coming
Out of the Competition: Avoid
sitting down immediately. Walk for a minute before sitting, but
remember you need to rest. Have your favorite sport drink or water,
eat some fruits, and then go for a brief stretching session. Check if
you are wounded anywhere and take care of your wounds like applying
Vaseline to friction areas. Don’t get cold! Have a towel on hand
near the competition area because this is when you are most likely to
catch a cold. Cover yourself with a vest or jacket. Remember to
protect yourself from the wind at this moment; ask your friends for
the time you need to take care of these things.
Remember
to Practice: Pay
attention to your teachers or to people who have already achieved the
level you want to achieve so that someday you will match them or even
move ahead of them. Make a plan to get to that desired level, so you
will feel more comfortable.
Plan
Your Food Strategy:
You will need more calories of food in your diet... Google for charts
and get that math going! Find what you will need to perform in the
months prior to your competitions and in your daily life. Set a
comfortable diet while you train. Cut
and paste diet reminders
all
over your house where you can see them!
FOOD
STRATEGY
We
are all different; we metabolize our food intake in different ways.
That means that you have to try different food
strategies
until you find the one that you are looking for. You may want thinner
or thicker skin or for your body and especially your face to look
different. Some people look better with some weight; others don’t.
Try different ways to balance your fat and oils to reach your desired
look. Energy comes in different ways; some food needs to be eaten in
large quantities to get a good caloric intake number, and some others
are more powerful and have more caloric value. It’s just like
gasoline; it comes in regular and unleaded. Try to find out what
your caloric intake should be by Googling your daily routine and then
find the number of calories you need based on your activity level. If
you train, you have to eat more, and you will get hungrier, of
course; you need more gas. You don’t want to calm your hunger
with
bad food or bad habits,
fueling
a feeling of anxiety. … You want good food that will give you good
numbers, so you can enjoy it. Get it?
Here
is the food that I have in my strategy. See if you are missing some
of these.
Liquids:
I only drink … H20 (water), apple juice, green tea, soy milk, 2%
milk, juicer machine smoothies mixing apples, celery, carrots and
cucumbers. No concentrates, no colas, except maybe once a month …
Fruits:
Berries, strawberries, bananas; all of these for breakfast for
Vitamins C and D.
Breakfast:
Oatmeal, bananas, flaxseed, eggs (whites only), juices, turkey hot
dog or turkey bacon, whole grain or whole wheat breads.
Lunch
and Dinner:
Boiled turkey, chicken, fish, tofu, cabbage, carrots, any roots you
like. Mix these in soups, salads; bake them; boil them with pasta;
and make wraps for lunch in pita bread with rice.
Tuna
has omega-3 like flaxseed, high in protein and low in fat. … Mix
these things into salads and soups. Make frappés with those fruits;
they will be low in fat, plus you will get energy and make it through
the day.
Remember
that beans are awesome in salads and soups and with rice, and they
will help keep you free of hunger.
It
is very important to have a late snack, so find something that is low
in fat. I use granola bars during the day and soy milk and turkey
slices wrapped in lettuce at night.
Using
the juicer machine is a very good way to get your vitamin intake.
Strawberries and Vitamin C are a better way to lessen your
inflammation after workouts instead of taking pills. A small shot of
coffee is also good to help you keep up through the day.
Cardio
Days:
It is important to know that the day before you run, or sweat a lot,
you should carb up. That means that you should eat more salads,
soups, green vegetables, and pastas and put away a couple more drinks
of water.
After
doing cardio,
your body usually will be more receptive to proteins.
So you can take that protein shake after the workout, have for dinner
more turkey, meat, tuna and fish with their omega-3. Also you may
want to juice up the next morning, so take some flaxseeds with your
breakfast.
But
first, you have to find out your calorie intake number based on your
daily routines. Put it into a number, and then find out the healthy
things you really like and will eat in your strategy, and the number
of calories each supplies. Then start experimenting until you get the
best match between what you need and what you can eat.
YOU
WILL HAVE TO GO TO THE GROCERY STORE OFTEN, AND YOU WILL HAVE TO TAKE
CARE OF YOUR FOOD IN YOUR HOUSE, AS IF YOU HAD A PET. THIS IS THE
MOST IMPORTANT PART OF A HEALTHY FOOD STRATEGY. YOU HAVE TO MOVE AND
PUT IT IN MOTION, AND THEN MONITOR YOUR FOOD INTAKE. YOU HAVE TO MAKE
IT PART OF YOUR LIFE.
Good
luck, Enrique